


Fraternizing

by RicochetRomance



Series: My Grandmaster [8]
Category: Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Clueless Orion, M/M, Pathfinder Society, Roleplaying Character, Sass, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-31 22:16:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12691263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RicochetRomance/pseuds/RicochetRomance
Summary: "Corrupting my Pathfinders again, Torch?" The Venture-Captain inquired dryly. "If you recall, the Shadow Lodge was dissolved to stop this kind of nonsense."---In which Orion sees no reason to choose a side.





	Fraternizing

**Author's Note:**

> Originally shared with my Pathfinder RPG group via Google Doc, cross-posting here to share it with a larger audience. 
> 
> Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10N-ZhQX6S0vhdLiC80I_CbjBXGTEkr9rfKAuG3ENj-g/edit?usp=sharing

Ambris Valsin had suspected for some time now that something wasn’t quite right about Orion. After all, when asked to covertly procure information from Society nemesis Grandmaster Torch, he had done so within mere hours... and the ‘stolen notes’ had in fact been handwritten copies.

Valsin sighed heavily, then rapped firmly on the battered wooden door of the Grandmaster's lair in the Puddles District. He had arrived for another one of their criminally infrequent sessions of sarcastic banter, and if his mind kept dwelling on irrelevant, weeks-old nonsense, he'd be hard-pressed to keep up with Torch's sharp wit.

Technically, as head of the Grand Lodge, he shouldn't be fraternizing with Grandmaster Torch at all - the Decemvirate would have fits if they found out. By that same token, however, Valsin also shouldn't be smoking cigars, drinking that ridiculously expensive Taldane scotch he loved so much, or entertaining a dalliance with Zarta Dranleen.

It was all a matter of guilty pleasures, and a man of his status and outwardly stern mannerisms was undoubtedly entitled to at least a few.

Torch's guard Kroger pulled open the door, looked Valsin over with a grunt of approval, then gestured for him to enter the lair. 

The familiarity of the place after an absence of six months was oddly pleasant - Torch wasn't one for redecorating. However, there was at least one difference - a table against the wall that was laden down with the trappings of an alchemist's lab. A table under which a vaguely familiar-looking young man was currently trying to hide.

"You really have a nasty habit of showing up early," Torch greeted Valsin dryly, noting the worrying direction of the Venture-Captain's gaze.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to give you enough time to hide all your dirty laundry," Valsin shot back. "Or in this case, enough time to put away your toys."

Torch rolled his eyes. The ten seconds between hearing a knock on the front door and Kroger answering that knock had decidedly not been enough time for Orion to extricate himself from their intertwined position in the bath and still be able to find a decent hiding place.

It was at this point that the Undine none-too-subtly peeked out from under the table, interested in the conversation his Grandmaster was having. He ducked back under it with an alarmed squeak when he identified the other man in the room as Ambris Valsin.

Unfortunately, Valsin had already identified him as well. 

"Corrupting my Pathfinders again, Torch?" The Venture-Captain inquired dryly. "If you recall, the Shadow Lodge was dissolved to stop this kind of nonsense."

Then, turning to address the Undine, he sighed. "And you. Get out from under there. Among other things, you're going to be taking a remedial course in stealth."

Orion crawled out from under the table and sheepishly clambered to his feet, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the floor tiles. He could feel the appraising stares of both men lingering on his body, and it was making him nervous. 

"I really thought you preferred more of a challenge, Torch," Valsin smirked, surveying the shy, embarrassed-looking little Undine with considerable amusement. "You had this one wrapped around your little finger in thirty seconds flat, didn't you."

Torch returned the smirk tenfold. "Jealousy isn't flattering, Ambris. Besides, we both know that challenges have their place - a place that isn't in my personal bath." 

Valsin arched an immaculate eyebrow. "Pleasure," he said flatly. "You're corrupting my agents for pleasure."

"Yes. You really should try it some time," Torch replied in a similarly sarcastic tone. "But I’d ask you to find your own damn alchemist."

"He IS my own damn alchemist," Valsin shot back vehemently. 

At this point, both men were completely ignoring Orion, who still stood frozen in place, blushing violently. As far as he'd understood, his Grandmaster was the mortal enemy of the Pathfinder Society, and certainly shouldn’t be on speaking terms with someone like Venture-Captain Ambris Valsin. To make matters even more bizarre, they were bickering like familiar old rivals - bickering about him.

"Not anymore, he isn't," the Grandmaster snapped possessively. At long last, he turned to acknowledge his Undine. "Isn't that right?"

With the attention of two powerful and dangerous men focused intently on him, Orion squirmed uncomfortably, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck. He was scared of the Venture-Captain’s impending wrath, but he wasn't about to lie.

"I love my Grandmaster,” Orion admitted, “but I’m still a Pathfinder, too. I guess that I’m, um, my Grandmaster’s Pathfinder?”

The Undine gave a hesitant, nervous, lopsided little smile. He trusted Torch above all else, and if Torch wanted him to tell the truth, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Ambris Valsin bit back a groan of frustration. Orion was under the Grandmaster’s control, and clearly had been for a very long time - likely since their first meeting, on Orion’s first-ever Society mission. Who exactly had seen fit to make the first mission of such a naive, impressionable creature one that involved the overwhelming influence of Grandmaster Torch? Oh, right. This was his own damn fault. 

"He just said that he loves you," the Venture Captain addressed Torch in disbelief. "There is a living being on Golarion who can honestly claim that he loves you."

"You're just bitter because you can’t say the same about yourself," Torch replied with considerable amusement. "Sit down and shut up, Ambris - I'll explain everything over a couple of drinks."

As if on cue, Orion immediately left the room, returning moments later with a carafe of particularly expensive Taldane scotch and two large glasses. Placing them within easy reach of the two older men, Undine then settled himself demurely in the bath, curling up at his Grandmaster's feet like some sort of disturbingly loyal aquatic lapdog.

Over the next hour, Ambris Valsin would come to discover the exact nature of Orion's relationship with Torch, which was just as grossly twisted and disturbing as he had expected. Perhaps even more disturbing, however, was Valsin’s realization that he actually didn’t mind.

That loathsome, hideously scarred piece of human scum had finally managed to find someone who loved him, and the fact that “someone” was an agent of the Pathfinder Society was hardly the end of the world. 

To the Society, Orion was a weak, disposable asset, but to Torch, Orion was invaluable. 

Maybe, just maybe, they deserved to be happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all feedback is appreciated.


End file.
